


The Wedding Crasher

by calliopes_muse



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Gideon mentioned, mentions of blood and choking, some mentions of Hook but he has no speaking parts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2017-04-21
Packaged: 2018-10-22 07:18:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10692366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calliopes_muse/pseuds/calliopes_muse
Summary: Some scenes leading up to the wedding which shall not be named. Regina doesn't want to talk about it either, but Emma doesn't give her a choice by making her Maid of Honor. The torture of watching Emma going through the motions of wedding prep leads to some revelations.





	The Wedding Crasher

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, it involves some mentions of HE who shall not be named, but I needed to fix the crap the show has caused and bring back my tough, strong Emma Swan. Give this a try. It's my attempt to fix the mess they made. I can't say it really follows canon because I haven't watched the show. I can't make head or tails out of the crazy plot they write anyway.

LAST WEEK  
*****************************  
For a brief moment, she was frozen – in horror or in shock – she wasn’t sure as she watched him get down on one knee in front of Emma. Emma’s breathy “Yes” made her move faster than she had in a long time. She couldn’t stay and watch as they embraced. Kissed. Her feet and her eyes were everywhere but on them. Slamming the damn book closed, she left the room. 

No one noticed.

A couple of days prior she had been doing all in her limited knowledge of female friendships to bring Emma out of her funk of being dumped by that blasted pirate. Now she could hear Snow tittering over wedding plans – dresses and flowers and cake designs.

All she could do was bury her face in her hands as tears ran down her cheeks.

This wasn’t how she imagined her happy ending.

Five days ago  
Wedding plans were in full swing in Storybrooke. Snow wasn’t wasting a moment now that she and Charming were awake and her only daughter, her princess, was finally getting married like she’d always dreamed. 

Emma didn’t look any different but she smiled and went along with the plans like a good princess. She walked around town latched to Hook’s arm; dinners, parties, and celebrations galore were plentiful. The duo was invited everywhere to celebrate their pending nuptials. 

The entire town was buzzing with the news. Everywhere Regina went it was the talk. One Tuesday morning had been a breaking point for Regina. She had quietly been eating breakfast at Granny’s after sending Henry off to school when Emma and Hook had entered the establishment. The quaint eatery suddenly sounded more like a sports pub during a raucous match. Hook was getting handshakes and slaps on the back, while Emma was being hugged over and over by every mom and young girl in sight. 

For a split second, Emma looked up and caught Regina looking at her. The blonde’s expression was unreadable so Regina did all she could do. She mustered a brief smile and a nod before looking away. She scrounged up a few bills to cover her meal and tossed them on the table before quickly finding the side exit. Taking all of the back alleys, Regina took hurried steps to her office with her head down and used the rear entrance in order to not be seen. She cancelled all of her appointments that day and did little else but sit and look out the window. The world went by outside, happy and laughing. It was a beautiful cloud-free day, but she couldn’t see any of it through the tears in her eyes.

After a couple of days, she took to working from home just to avoid it all. She only answered her phone if it was Henry and responded to only work emails. For the sake of her own sanity, she threw herself into her work. It was worth it if it meant not seeing Emma on Hook’s arm anymore. She just couldn’t do it. Admitting how she felt about the Savior to herself was one thing. Facing it day in and day out with the risk of saying something to someone else, or worse Emma, was completely different. She couldn’t even comprehend the ramifications of that. Regina was finally a better person without her Evil Queen half. She was doing the right thing for once. She was being selfless and caring about others well-being. Letting go of Emma and letting her be happy, it was the right thing to do. It’s what a hero would do. That’s what she was now, right?

The hard knock at her door jerked her out of her thoughts. She stared down at the pen in her hand and realized she had been sitting there for a while doing absolutely nothing but thinking of Emma Swan. She huffed at her behavior and pushed away from the desk as another forceful knock came. Irritated at being interrupted, she briskly walked to the front door and jerked it open.

“What do you…?” The words fell silent as she gazed on Emma standing in her doorway in a flower sundress, her hair in soft curls, make-up softly applied. She looked…angelic. “Em-ma…” Regina gasped, and then swallowed around the sudden lump in her throat, “You look…different.”

Emma glanced down at her dress, brushing her hands down the front self-consciously, before looking back up at Regina. “I came to see you.”

Regina didn’t miss the slight blush on Emma’s cheeks, and her heart leapt at it. She stepped aside. “Come in then.”

Taking a few steps inside the foyer, Emma stopped and turned around, waiting for Regina to close the door. “You haven’t been answering any of my calls or my emails.”

Regina took a deep breath as her hand slid off the door handle. She took a cautious step in Emma’s direction and tried to say in as casual a way as possible, with a slight shrug, “Sorry, I’ve been focused on work.”

“Yeah, I know. I went by your office too.” Emma took a step towards her. “Your secretary said you’ve called in the last couple of days saying you were working at home.”

Regina nodded. “Yes, it’s quieter here, easier to focus.”

Emma nodded but didn’t say anything for a long moment, simply watched her. The air suddenly got thick and heavy with the silence, but Regina knew she couldn’t look away or say anything. She knew if she did that Emma would know, that she’d see right through her.

“You’re lying,” Emma finally said with a tilt of her head.

Damn it! Regina mentally chastised herself. Instead, she rolled her eyes and scoffed, “What could I possibly be lying about?”

“I’m not sure yet, but I’ll figure it out. I know you, Regina, and something is bothering you. It’s been bothering you for a while, and you’ve been avoiding me. Which is really not a good thing when you’re going to be my Maid of Honor,” Emma insisted.

Frantically, Regina shook her head, “No, I can’t.” Just to be able to move with the sudden nervous energy flooding her body, Regina strode toward her office. She shuffled papers on her desk to have something to do with her hands. “Besides, Snow should be your Maid of Honor. That’s not my place.”

Emma quickly came up to her and took one her hands, stilling her. “Yes, it is.” Regina couldn’t bring herself to make eye contact. If she did, she’d lose it. The touch of Emma’s hand was already too intimate, too much. “Look, Regina, we may not have started out as friends. Okay, that’s an understatement, but you’ve come to mean so much to me. You’re my best friend now, and I don’t want anyone else by my side when I do this more than you. Please…do me this honor.”

Regina’s heart broke. It almost felt like a proposal. In some other realm, some other lifetime. Tears pricked at her eyes, she didn’t know if she could survive watching Emma marry someone else. She gave it one more try to get out of it, “I don’t want to hurt Snow by taking her place.”

Emma squeezed her hand and smiled, her thumbs caressed the back of Regina’s hands gently. “She already gave her blessing.”

It took all of Regina’s willpower not to breakdown completely. It was too much, too close.

Emma came around the desk and leaned in close, an almost hug, her breath close to her ear. “Say yes.”

“Yes,” Regina whispered, squeezing her eyes shut as tears finally fell, and she felt her heart shatter as the woman she loved wrapped her in a hug.

 

TWO DAYS AGO  
*******************************  
Regina swatted at the fairies as they buzzed around her…literally, like flies, putting on the finishing touches to her Maid of Honor dress. In the Enchanted Forest, the pale peach dress, with trims in ruffles and flowers, an actual toned-down version of Emma’s sparkling white bridal dress, would have been very appropriate, if not even tame in comparison to what was normally seen for a bridal party. However, in the modern world, it was simply what Regina would call gaudy and exactly Snow White’s style.

For the last day and a half, she had endured round after round of fittings and adjustments. Before that, she suffered through endless girly chatter as Emma, Snow, Belle, and Ariel discussed the endless designs and styles of dresses, combinations and meanings behind each. The only thing that seemed to help Regina get through the torment was the plentiful supply of wine that she was good at helping herself and everyone else to. If nothing else, it covered up what was going on inside.

Blue flitted in front of her face, a little too close, and Regina had to lean back to focus. “I believe that may be the last of it, Madame Mayor.”

“Oh, thank god!” Regina replied, surly. Blue squinted at her, but said nothing. “What?”

“Are you going to be able to make it through the dinner and your speech tonight?” The tiny fairy attempted to raise her head higher as if it would make her more intimidating.

Regina just snickered at the attempt, “I’m good, little fly. Don’t you worry.” She tried not to be to mean to Blue. After all, she had a bit of an encounter that left her drained and Regina and Emma knew it had something to do with Gideon and the Black Fairy. Sighing but with a teasing smirk, she shooed Blue and the others from the room. “Now if you don’t mind, privacy please.”

When the room was cleared, she gulped down the small amount of red wine remaining in her glass. “No more. You have to keep it together tonight.” She set down the glass on a nearby table and cleared her mind, trying not to think of the night ahead. She could only think of one pre-wedding night that had been worse than this, one that she had dreaded more than this. All the prep, pomp, and circumstance had brought back a lot of those painful memories. Now, she got to replace them with even more painful ones. “Yay, me,” she muttered into the empty room. Closing her eyes, she forced it all away and set to locating the zipper of her dress. 

Tossing the material aside, she dressed in her tailored slacks, maroon button down, and black jacket. In a few hours, she would be toasting her best friend to have a happy marriage to a man she couldn’t stand. With determination, she jerked at her jacket lapels. “Time to get your act together, Regina.”

***************************  
“What the hell is your problem?” Emma had been hot on her heels as she burst through the doors and out into the cool night air. The toast, in fact the entire night, hadn’t quite gone to plan. It wasn’t the wine. She couldn’t blame that because she hadn’t even had another drop to drink since that afternoon. It was more…everything else.

Regina rounded on her, still on edge. “Nice to see you’ve got a little of your fire back. I thought all of it was gone.”

For a moment, Emma stood with her mouth open. “And that means, what exactly?”

Regina frustratingly gestured with her hands at Emma in her sandals, perfectly manicured toenails, and cutesy flowery dress. It wasn’t that she wasn’t pretty. At least, she had bothered to let her hair down a little and put on some lipstick, but she…she wasn’t her Emma. Her Emma. She closed her eyes and shook her head. No.

“What?” Emma tilted her head and took a step closer, the rising moon catching the blonde highlights in Emma’s hair.

The nervous flutter in her stomach made Regina put her hand there unconsciously. Emma followed the movement with her eyes, hesitating a moment, before speaking, “You do that when you’re nervous or upset. Which is it?” Regina’s eyes jerked up to land on hers. “Or is it both?”

Regina forced a smile. “This is your night, Emma. You should go back in and celebrate. Tomorrow is your big day.”

Emma shook her head, taking another careful step. “Not until you tell me what’s bothering you. You barely made it through the toast. You were shaking like a leaf, and that’s not like you. Most of the night you have been sulking around and barking out orders to the caterers. You haven’t danced with Henry once. I…I don’t think you’re happy.”

She laughed a little. “Well, Miss Swan, I’m not exactly the woman you met when you first got here. I don’t have the Queen part of me to keep me calm and collected at all times. I guess this is me without…my mask.”

“But you’re happy,” Emma insisted.

“Why do you care?” Regina threw out her arms in exasperation, this conversation was heading in a very unsafe direction, and she needed out of it fast. “You’re the one that’s supposed to be happy right now. If you are, that’s all that matters. And…speaking of which, let’s get you back inside to your future husband. I’m sure he’s curious where you got off to.”

She reached for Emma’s arm as she walked past her, in a manner that insisted Emma wasn’t to argue or fight her. Regina was dragging her back into the party even if she had to do it magically.

Before she could reach the door though, Emma slipped her arm away and managed to somehow twirl her so her back collided with the glass. She didn’t have time to react before Emma’s mouth was on hers, soft and needy. Under the loose material of the dress, Regina was quickly reminded of the firm muscle and soft curves of the woman hiding underneath. Her desire spiked and she was kissing back with a fierceness she had held back far too long. Emma’s long fingers swept up into her hair, scraping down, sending shivers of dark desire pooling at the base of her spine. All she could do was pull Emma’s hips closer, angle her thigh, reaching for the spot to let Emma know what she’d been trying to tell her for so long but never had the words for.

As quickly as it all started, it ended. A whoosh of wings and wicked cackle of laughter was heard by both women. It floated away on the wind as they both looked at each other. With lips swollen and makeup smeared, they awkwardly pulled away from each other.

The moment was delicate and Regina knew that the slightest wrong move was spook Emma. Little did she know, she didn’t have to do anything. Voices were heard from inside the building and within seconds, their privacy was interrupted by Snow and half of the dwarves.

Regina tried to get her attention, “Em-ma,” but the blonde merely looked at her sadly from some comment Sleepy was making and shook her head. The crowd went inside, leaving Regina to her thoughts and worries. 

That night, she left the party without saying goodbye.

 

THIS MORNING  
*********************************  
Her restless night, thoughts running through her head of what could and should have been, where her and Emma could have taken a different turn, was making her tired and anxious this morning. A part of her wanted to get the day over with, like ripping off a band aid, but the other part of her dreaded it, the final letting go. Her heart sank in her chest at the thought of it, and she took a steadying breath to push past the anxiety.

As she walked aimlessly among the guests, string music playing softly in the background, she wondered how she’d get through the ceremony. In a few moments, she’d line up with the rest of the wedding party for the march into City Hall for the ceremony. She had thought a church or outdoor wedding would have been a more obvious choice, but Emma, who had been mostly non-committal on the wedding details, insisted on using City Hall for the ceremony. For Regina, it gave her a pang of irony to see Emma getting married to someone else in a place where the two of them had faced off and come to new understandings so many times. It almost felt…wrong for the wedding to be here. At least for her to marry him here.

A tap on her shoulder brought her out of her musings. “It’s almost time,” Snow smiled up at her, the silky pale rose of her blouse giving her cheeks a hint of flushed look. Of course, that could just be because Snow was overly excited. The shorter woman was practically bouncing on her toes with giddiness.

“Right,” Regina answered and shook her hair out, straightening her shoulders. Time to do her Maid of Honor job. She strode through the crowd, barely hearing Snow directing the guests to take their seats and the remainder of the wedding party to line up. Her heart thundered in her ears as her mind replayed last night. Her fingers landed on the doorknob, and she closed her eyes briefly, willing her mind and heart to push her feelings aside. For a moment, she wished she had never sent her evil half away.

Softly, she knocked with her free hand and turned the knob. Barely opening the door, she said, “May I come in?”

A long moment passed. “Of course.”

She stepped in slowly and clicked the door closed behind her. Emma stepped out from behind the changing screen and into full view. With a gasp, Regina’s eyes flooded with tears. 

“You’re absolutely breathtaking.” The words were out before she could stop them. She didn’t even care anymore that Emma heard them or knew how she felt. Damn it all to hell, she barreled forward. “I thought you were gorgeous the first night you showed up with Henry. I always thought you were, but now…words don’t suffice.”

“Oh, Regina,” Emma’s voice cracked with emotion, “And they say I’m a Charming.”

They stood for a moment, just looking at each other and smiling bittersweetly. Emma broke the spell. “He says I’m his happy ending,” she paused, a tear falling to her clasped hands as she worked up her courage, “but I promised to give you your happy ending too.” Regina waited. “I need to know if you’re happy, Regina, before I can do this.”

Regina’s shoulders sagged and she let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. She went to Emma and took her hands, an intimate gesture neither of them allowed themselves, only now she realized why. “That doesn’t matter right now, Emma. You’re about to get married to someone who is placing all of his happiness on you. Does that make you happy? Are you okay with that? Em-ma…are YOU happy?”

For a long moment, Emma had been staring down at their clasped hands. When she finally looked up, her face was sad and empty, broken under the weight of her burden. “That’s not the point. I’m the Savior. I came to bring everyone their happy endings. That doesn’t mean that I get to have my own.” She lifted a hand to gently graze her fingers along Regina’s cheek, until they tucked under her chin, pulling her forward, breaths mingling, lips so close. “That was never part of the deal.” The kiss was feather light, aching in its gentleness, a goodbye.

Emma pulled back and adjusted her hair, touched up the makeup that had smeared, and then stepped back from the mirror. “Ready?” She looked over to Regina who stared at her in disbelief and shock, not quite comprehending what she had just heard. She stepped past Regina as if their conversation and kiss had never happened. “Let’s do this.”

That snapped Regina out of her trance. That’s not something a happy woman getting married says. That’s something a soldier going to war says. She grabbed Emma’s arm and swung her around. “No!”

“What?” Emma questioned in surprise.

“I’m not happy. You’re my happy ending. Us…together…with Henry as a family, so as far as I’m concerned, you haven’t finished your job of bringing me my happy ending, Savior. Henry and I came first. We loved you first. You promised us happy endings first, so you don’t get to run off with someone that skips into town and claims you as his happy ending when we were already here. That’s not being a hero and sure as hell not being a Savior.” By the time Regina had finished, she was in Emma’s face panting with anger and frustration. She wasn’t going to let Emma go that easy. They had been through too much just to watch her walk away thinking she didn’t deserve a happy ending too.

Emma’s eyes glittered with something that Regina hadn’t seen in a long time. “Is that right?” Oh, that’s what it was, the edge of dominance in Emma’s voice. She remembered that sound from way back. She remembered how much she liked it too.

“That’s right,” she pushed back giving as good as Emma gave and she saw the fire dance in Emma’s eyes. Oh…yeah.

“What are you going to do about it?” Emma challenged her.

Damn, but Regina liked this a little too much. “How about I go out there and tell everyone the wedding is off and you’re running away with your Maid of Honor?”

Emma smirked. “You wouldn’t dare.”  
Regina tilted her head to the side. “Really, Em-ma? We’re starting this with a challenge like that? You know I don’t back down from a challenge.” She moved towards the door, calling Emma’s bluff.

Emma took her hand. “Let’s do it together,” she acquiesced. 

Regina shrugged. “That’ll work too.” She took Emma’s hand and opened the door, ready to face their family, friends, and eventually Killian together. 

Emma had barely gotten out, “Mom, Dad, we have something to tell you,” when a deafening screech was heard from all sides. 

The painful noise was incapacitating so as quickly as possible Regina cast a dampening spell over the building to give them all some relief, but the noise from the outside was quickly replaced by demands to know what was going on from the inside. Snow whistled and demanded everyone shut up so they could figure it out. Emma and Regina went to the front doors looking for signs of the offender, though both had a good idea who it may be this time.

Sure enough, standing in the middle of Main Street was the Black Fairy.

“Think she’s a little upset about us turning Gideon against her?” Emma asked Regina.

Regina shrugged. “Just a little.”

She looked at Regina and sighed, “This wasn’t exactly what I had planned for today, but I guess a Savior’s job is never done.”

“And I’m really tired of my town being attacked all the time,” Regina muttered. She stood up straight. “I’m ready if you are.”

“First things first.” Emma motioned to her dress. “I can’t do anything in this get-up.” With a swirl of her hand, she was her more traditional jeans, boots, and white t-shirt with a sword at her side. Now she felt like herself again. Next to her, Regina transitioned into a solid black pantsuit. She looked stunning and badass. Emma caught her eyes and they smiled at each other. This was the way it was meant to be. It felt right.

Together, they pushed the doors open forcefully and strode towards the Black Fairy, who stopped the screeching noise immediately upon seeing them. 

“Ahhh, there you are. How nice of you to join me.” She smiled menacingly.

Regina strutted forward whirling a fireball in her hand furiously. Emma was only a step behind brandishing her sword in one hand, her white magic in the other. “Today’s not the day, fairy. Leave or things are going to get ugly,” Regina demanded.

The Black Fairy laughed. “Oh, you’re right about that.” With an imperceptible twitch of her head, Emma’s sword was flung from her hand, clattering to the ground a few feet away.

Emma clutched her jaws and adjusted her shoulders. “Fine. I don’t need that anyway to take care of you.” With a swing of her arms, she tossed a heavy dose of white magic at the Black Fairy. The fairy merely held up her hand and projected it right back into Emma, knocking her into the crowd behind her.

“Emma!” Regina ran to her. Finding her in the crowd of people, she picked her up by her arm, whispering to her as she did so. “What happened? Light magic always destroys dark.”

Emma’s greens eyes were as shocked as her own. She was clearly shaken but still determined. “I…I don’t know. I was hoping you had an answer.”

“Try combining?” Regina asked.

“That’s all I got,” Emma brushed her jeans off.

They walked back to the middle of the square and stood before the fairy. The dark, evil fairy smirked at them and moved closer, clearly not afraid now. “You’re not going to win. You know that right. I can smell the fear radiating off of you.” She stood nearly between them, looking back and forth, sniffing. Then chuckled low. “Oh my, and that’s not all, I see. How adorable.”

The fairy pushed between them, brushing them aside. Emma and Regina shared a look of concern and frustration, considering how to catch the Black Fairy off guard with their combined magical power. “That’s not my concern though. You know why I’m really here.”

“Why would anyone evil attack anyone else? I know that answer all too well,” Regina stated matter-of-factly. “It’s Gideon.”

“Yessss,” the Black Fairy growled, swirling around and grabbing Regina by the throat.

“Hey!” Emma moved to attack the fairy but she wasn’t fast enough and before she knew it, she was off the ground too, just like Regina, dangling in the Black Fairy powerful grasp. She fought for air, and her eyes searched out Regina’s. She could see her legs kicking, and she knew she was struggling for air too. Their time was limited. She fought to get the words out around her limited oxygen. “Give him to you.”

The Black Fairy considered Emma’s offer for a long moment, a moment that seemed like an eternity to Emma. Regina’s legs were moving slower in her peripheral vision. “I promise,” Emma begged.

The fairy dropped both women to the ground. They gasped and reached for each other. “Are you okay?” Emma searched out Regina’s face. She barely saw the nod before she was yanked to her feet by the Black Fairy.

“Get my grandson. Now!” The evil fairy insisted. Emma stumbled, turning the fairy so her back was to Regina. 

Seeing her chance, Regina formed two fireballs in her hands and lunged forward into the fairy’s ribcage from the back, searching out her heart. When she was let loose, Emma used the power of her white magic and did the same from the front. The two women clasped hands around the fairy’s heart as it shook and vibrated violently against them, fighting back against their power. Between them, the Black Fairy screeched in rage. Snow, David, Killian, and all of the townspeople that had been observing the events fell to their knees as the fairy’s angry howls filled the air.

“Hold on, Emma! Hold tight to my hands,” Regina screamed.

“I’ve got you!” Emma called back.

Neither woman noticed how they were slowly beginning to float off the ground, turning and spiraling, as the fairy’s rage and pain increased. The intensity was almost unbearable. Regina closed her eyes and focused on Emma’s hands and magic, feeling the intimate intensity of it.

In a flash, she fell to the ground with a hard thud, the air knocked from her lungs, her body aching everywhere, and Emma’s hands no longer in hers. Frantically, she sat up and looked for the blonde Savior.

“Emma!” There she was, on the other side of the square. Her blonde hair the first thing Regina saw. A dark whirlwind was above her, and she knew the Black Fairy was still there. For the moment though, she didn’t care anything about that. She just wanted to get to Emma.

Running over, she got within a few feet and stopped suddenly. “No…nononono…Em-ma.” She closed the remaining distance and fell to her knees next to Emma’s side, pulling the blonde into her lap, a red stain was quickly spreading over the white tank top. A few feet away, Emma’s sword was covered in her blood.

Regina glared up at the Black Fairy, rage and revenge that she hadn’t felt in years swelled in her. “If she dies, I will hunt you down and rip you to pieces!”

The fairy rolled her eyes at the threat. “I suggest you bring me my grandson. You have one week, for recovery or for mourning, whichever comes first.”

Sticky and warm, Emma’s blood flowed between Regina’s fingers out onto the hard pavement of Main Street, reminding her of Emma’s life hanging in the balance. 

Hovering over them, the Black Fairy cackled with glee at the Savior’s demise and challenged all others looking on in a booming voice that defied her size. “Prepare to meet the fate of your precious Savior, any who challenge me. This is the consequence for taking Gideon from me. Return my grandson to me in one week, or I will return to flatten this town and kill all inhabitants.”

Lifting a shaky hand to Emma’s increasingly pale face, Regina stroked her taunt cheek with her thumb. “Emma, hang in there, okay? Don’t give up.”

Emma’s pale green eyes fought to focus on the woman above her. “Mmmm, ‘Gina…tired.”

“No…no, you can’t be tired,” Regina insisted. “I need you to stay awake. I need your magic, okay?”

Regina brought her hand down to the spot where the sword had pierced through Emma’s chest, just below her heart, as she gently cradled the blonde in her other arm. With all of her focus, she worked on pushing out a healing energy to the area. It wasn’t nearly enough energy. “Come on, Emma…work with me here. I need you to focus on healing. Focus your energy, okay? You can do it.”

“Mmmmmm,” Emma’s head lolled to the side.

“Emma! Come on, Emma. No! Wake up!” Regina yelled, breaking her spell and bringing her hand up to tap Emma’s cheek. This only roused Emma slightly, and Regina was beginning to feel a well of panic rise in her. 

The Black Fairy swooped down into her face and grinned maniacally, whispering to the former queen so that only she could hear, “What’s the matter, dear? True love’s not an option when she can’t return the sentiment?”

Regina’s teeth were quickly bared in a sneer. “I’m not done with you. I will destroy you with my bare hands.” 

The Black Fairy smirked seductively, running her dark fingernails over Emma’s pale cheek. “Don’t forget what I’m capable of.” Laughing, the fairy swirled away in a whirlwind of black smoke. 

Quivering with rage and fear, Regina returned her gaze back to the blonde in her arms. “Emma…,” the whisper ghosted past her lips as her fingers once again traced her cheek to her thin, frail neck. She checked her pulse. It was weak, barely there. “You’re not leaving like this. We’re not finished. There’s so much left to say.”

She was vaguely aware of footsteps running towards them, and of someone trying to pull her away from Emma without success. The voices around her gradually became clearer. Snow demanding to take Emma to the hospital. Henry frantically begging his grandparents to give her a True Love’s Kiss. Others were calling for Hook to do it. Someone said they couldn’t find him.

All of the noise didn’t matter to Regina. She pushed off everyone grabbing at her and pulled Emma closer, whispering in her ear, hoping she heard. “You know what’s in my heart. I know what’s in yours. You’re still here, and I know you can hear me. I believe in you and in us. Now I just need you to come back to me, Emma Swan. I love you.”

Sliding back, she reverently pressed her lips to Emma’s, the pulse of their combined magic instant and electric. She placed her hand over Emma’s wound and felt the movement of muscle and skin beneath her touch as their magic repaired the sword’s damage from the inside out.

The yelling, demands, and murmurs fell silent around them as white light glowed around the pair building in brightness as Emma healed. When Emma gasped, the light burst out and away from them covering the whole town. 

“Whoa!” David said, shaking his head. He looked to Snow. “Did you feel that?”

Regina hadn’t looked away from Emma who was staring up at her, a goofy smile on her face. “I think we broke a curse.”

“With True Love’s Kiss?” Emma smiled bigger.

Smiling back down at her, the reality of it sinking in, Regina started to shake a little – really it was more like a quiver, “Yeah.”

“A curse?” Snow asked. Some people were dispersing but a small group hung around out of curiosity. 

“I’m not sure what kind yet or who it was from,” Regina sat back and pulled Emma into a sitting position next to her, “but I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”

Emma couldn’t help but smile at Regina, not even caring that her parents and Henry were looking on. “And we’ll take care of it…together.”

“Together?” Snow slowly said.

“Umm, yeah, about that…,” Emma finally turned to her parents with a self-conscious scratch to the back of the head.

David put up his hands to stop her. “That’s okay. We kind of figured it out.”

Emma leans back bopping Regina in the shoulder, giving her a little wink. “I told her to be subtle, but nooo, she has to go off and pull this True Love’s Kiss thing.”

“Really, that’s your story?” Regina retorted and stood to her feet.

Emma followed suit. “Yep, and I’m sticking to it. Just think, you get to live with this now. It’s all yours, baby!”

Behind her, Regina could hear Henry, David, and Snow laughing. She tried to huff and act like Emma’s antics irritated her, but she couldn’t help the smile that broke across her face as Henry came up and hugged them. Emma had been wrong. Happy endings weren’t given by a Savior or anyone else. They were fought for and earned with sacrifice and love, and if any family had earned their happy ending, it was the Swan-Mills family.


End file.
